Flurry of Dancing Flames
by And Now I Dance
Summary: First, no romance, I know you're all expecting it as soon as both Axel and Roxas are mentioned. This is a story told as if Roxas had gone with Axel, and their rise through the ranks of Organization XIII. Rated T for violence and some mild language.
1. Chapter 1

This contains several early game spoilers and some lines of dialoge were taken directly from the beginning of the game, to help reinforce the fact this follows the games storyline up to a certain point.

* * *

The spiked chakram whipped around blazingly fast, followed by a long trail of fire red hair, all of it spiked back, as the Organization member completed his spin, bringing the second chakram straight out in an attack that would easily gore any opponent. It was retracted just as quickly, brought back into a defensive position, held there for only a split second, and then suddenly thrust forward again, stopping mid swing; a feint. The first chakram came shooting out right behind the second, then both were raised and brought down in a decapitating cross slash. Once again they were retracted into a defensive position, before being launched into another offensive maneuver. Each attack routine was performed with slow deliberation, a quick flurry of swipes quickly brought back into a central defensive stance, only to lead into a new offensive.

After several moments of this the wielder let slip a toothy smile, his limbs now warmed up, and the two chakrams burst into flame. Now he was all offense, an inferno come alive as he spun and weaved a beautiful and deadly dance. He finished the display by whipping his chakrams out like a pair of flaming yo-yos on an invisible string, holding them at the apex of their flight and forcing them both to spin like two black holes set aflame. The chakrams abruptly whipped back to their owner's hands, their flames abated.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames finished his morning exercise in a last puff of smoke as he dismissed his weapons, grin never leaving his face..

"Most impressive, Axel," the monotone voice sent a grimace across the red heads features, quickly replaced with his customary grin before turning to face his superior.

"Hey, boss. Need something?" He didn't bother asking how Xemnas had gotten into his personal patch of darkness, the telltale sign of the dark portal was just fading away. Instead he casually threw his scrawny arm over the superior's shoulder. "What would bring you all the way out here? Thought you'd forgotten about me," then tried to suppress a small cough before muttering "more like hoped," under his breath.

Xemnas didn't catch the last comment, his withering gaze too intent on the arm so casually slung over his shoulder.

"Yes," he said at length. "I do need something, something I thought I'd save for you."

"Oh, wonderful."

"We've located Roxas." The hand that had been so casually slung over his shoulder suddenly tightened, and Xemnas knew he had come to the right person.

* * *

"Trapped in a computer game, eh?" Axel watched the swirling darkness around him. Floating on his back, hands folded behind his head, and he had seen Roxas for the first time in nearly a year. Life was good, or, whatever you could call his existence was, at least.. "Well, don't worry, I'll get you out of there." He let out a sigh and closed his piercing green eyes. "Best friends, after all. Right?" He lay there for several moments, deep in contemplation. Remembering what it had been like to have a friend, what it had been like to feel like he had a heart. 


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is going to follow the game very closely. It's neccesary for the next chapter though, my apologies in advance.

* * *

Axel's timing was perfect as he materialized into Twilight Town. Time had stopped, that much was apparent. If it hadn't been for the battle raging in the ring there wouldn't have been a sound. He kept his hood pulled low over his face, fairly certain that the Dusks would have things cleaned up by the time he got to the arena. No reason to show his face, yet. However it was Roxas, and not the Dusks who stood victorious as Axel pushed past some frozen bystanders and into view.

"Roxas. All right. Fight fight fight." He gave a brief applause as he strode into the ring, genuinely impressed, and worried. If Roxas had taken care of this many Dusks, he was a lot stronger than Xemnas had thought. He tried playing a different card.

"You really don't remember?" He asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. "It's me! You know, Axel," and with a flourish he swept off his hood, sure that Roxas's memories would come flooding back.

"Axel?" The clueless tone said It all. His best friend really was lost, and it was all he could do to hide his disappointment.

"Talk about blank with a capital B. Man oh man…Even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Then a thought struck him. In a blaze of fire from each hand he summoned his chakrams, if the Dusks couldn't crack him, he would.

"Wait a sec!" Roxas really had no intention of fighting this black robed stranger, the stranger who felt strangely familiar, as if they had met in a dream. "Tell me what's going on!"

Axel would have liked nothing better, but he had to remember where they were. "This town is his creation, right?" Saying the words more to remind himself than anything. "Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story."

No sooner had he finished the sentence the air started to distort, as If someone had dropped a pebble into a pond. Not soon after the initial ripple, the spectators all disappeared.

"Uh-oh," Axel muttered, thinking aloud. Xemnas had warned him about this, about the telltale signs that told him when Diz was nearby.

Roxas noticed it too, and that was the breaking point. There was only so much he could take in a day. "What's going ON?" He shouted at Axel, the only person so far who seemed to have any idea what was happening to him. He hurled the keyblade to the ground, which in his eyes had become a symbol of all the strange things that had been happening to him. A slight glimmer of hope told him that maybe without it things would return back to normal. It didn't last long, almost immediately the keyblade forced itself back into his grasp in a brief flash of light.

"Number 13, Roxas. The keyblade's chosen one." Axel explained, trying once again to jog his friends memory. Unfortunately, it had the adverse effect.

Roxas was fed up. Tired of the cryptic messages and strange happenings, and so far no one had pissed him off more than this stranger who seemed to only be bringing up more questions while not giving any answers. "Okay, fine! You asked for it!" He shouted out, bringing the keyblade to bear.

Axel could only grin, this was more like the old Roxas, the Roxas he remembered. Besides, he had already mentioned bringing the kid back unconscious really wasn't a problem. "That's more like it," he chuckled, twirling his twin chakrams lazily around on each hand, deciding right before the inevitable clash he'd take it easy on his old friend.

Roxas came charging right in, and before he even made the first slash Axel could tell Xemnas was right about one thing, Roxas wasn't nearly as strong as he used to be. A quick hop on the ball of his foot sent Axel spinning clear of Roxas's clumsy swing, hurling a chakram out in mid spin to strike firmly against Roxas's shin, then promptly called it back in a puff of smoke. First blood was his. If it hurt, the brown headed boy didn't show it. He came charging right back in, trying the same overhead slash, and Axel promptly executed the same counter, scoring another solid hit.

"Roxas, this is disappointing," he whispered, thinking he could spin circles around this inexperienced opponent all day. Roxas proved him otherwise. He came charging in again, keyblade held high as if he was about to strike, being sure to keep his eyes on Axel's feet. Sure enough, Axel expected the attack. He began his dodge without even checking that Roxas had begun his swing, believing he was trying the same offensive. Roxas kept running straight ahead, satisfied to hear the "chink" of a chakram connecting with the stone of the arena floor. Axel heard it too, although the fact didn't really register until the keyblade plowed into his stomach, and it didn't stop there. After the first hit Roxas kept up the attack, battering Axel again in the ribs before sending him flying with a powerful finishing slash. Axel didn't quite lose his footing as he touched down after the assault, but damn had that hurt! It seemed that although Roxas lacked the finesse he once had, he still had all his old strength.

"Maybe not quite as easy as I thought," Axel muttered to no one in particular, massaging his aching midsection.


	3. Chapter 3

Heh, been forever since I've updated this...First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who left a comment and/or constructive criticism, I sincerely hope to see more of both. Second of all, I apologize for making you sit through a full of chapter of content that might as well have been ripped from the game, this chapter will offer something new. Also, there's a small bit of foreshadowing that will lead into an important plot development, if you're perceptive enough to catch it.

(For some odd reason, the site isn't letting me make rulers, soo...----------------- Look, a ruler! Certainly not fake!)

"All right, Roxas," Axel whispered, crouching low to the ground, "You asked for it, so lets kick it up a notch!" Before Roxas could even digest the words, Axel was off. A black and red streaked blur as he sprinted towards his stunned opponent. Roxas was caught so off guard he couldn't begin to follow that assault, hell even if he was paying attention he would have been hard pressed to keep up. Axel was behind Roxas before he even realized Axel had moved, and only a faint whisper of "Burn," told Roxas that he was in for some hurt. Sure enough, the Flurry of Dancing Flame's trademark had entered the fight, that trademark of course being fire. Two flaming chakrams gored Roxas' back, ripping at the flesh and cauterizing the wounds just as quickly as Axel spun them round and round against the poorly protected skin. To Roxas, the agony was unbearable, he had never experienced a pain so excruciating. Any normal kid would have been maimed beyond consciousness, and even a large man would definitely be put out of a fight, but Roxas didn't even fall over, possessed with a strength he never knew he had. Instead, Roxas spun right around and smashed the keyblade into the side of Axel's face, missed the second slash as Axel stumbled to the side under the force of that blow, but managed to once again send Axel flying with a powerful third slash to the belly.

Axel spat some blood out of his mouth as he landed, ignoring the paradox of having blood along with no heart that he usually pondered. He was definitely starting to hurt, but he wasn't about to show it. At this point he had half a mind to just summon a massive ring of fire and immolate his old friend in a glorious blaze of flames, but a tug at his supposedly nonexistent heart strings gave him pause. During that pause, Roxas began to rush forward, keyblade held high.

"Now I'm angry," Axel muttered, alighting his chakrams once more, and hurling the both of them out at his charging foe. Roxas didn't stop, batting the first out of his path but not fast enough to deflect the second, which impaled itself into his shoulder. Roxas didn't stop. Axel was too stunned to put up any real resistance as Roxas barreled in, barely gathering his wits enough to throw is arms up as the keyblade came crashing straight down for his head, crushing his arms instead.

That was it, Axel thought to himself. It was time to pull out all the stops, he had gone too easy. "Not bad, Roxas," he congratulated. Then their fight was over.

Another ripple distorted the reality around them, this time accompanied by the puppet master himself.

"So it was you!" Axel screamed out at the red bandaged man. Diz, according to the Organization's intelligence. Here was the real opponent, one that Axel wouldn't have any problems going all out on. He went on the offensive immediately , setting his weapons aflame and whipping them out to strike out at Diz, where they were stopped in mid-air as abruptly as if they had hit a transparent wall, which they in fact had.

"Roxas!" Diz shouted out. "This man speaks nonsense!"

He was trying to trick his best friend! "Roxas," Axel pleaded, "Don't listen to him!"

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

On it went, the two of them vying for his attention, and the tired, confused, battered Roxas couldn't take it, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.

"Roxas, no!" Axel was quick to his side, kneeling to make sure his friend was all right.

"He'll survive, you should know that better than anyone," Diz calmly explained.

"Shut up, you!" Axel shouted back. "This is your fault, all of it!"

Diz chuckled. "My fault?" He asked. "My fault for giving him exactly what he, no, what every Nobody desires?"

"No, your fault for stealing my friend away." He muttered back, eyes downcast. He didn't like to admit it, but suddenly Axel almost felt…Guilty. A shake of his head quickly cleared those ridiculous thoughts away, and he quickly scooped his best friend up into his deceptively strong arms. "And I'm taking him back." The venom dripping from his every word made it perfectly clear that he meant it. Axel quickly opened up a portal of darkness to make his escape; at least, he tried to. An infuriating laugh told him that Diz was the reason nothing appeared.

"Did you really think I would let you go that easily, Axel? Roxas is far too valuable for me to give him up without a fight."

Axel gently set Roxas back down. "Oh, you want a fight, you bastard?" Even as he spoke the words, a massive cyclone of fire rose up from the ground, circling the two. "You've got your fight."


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, your comments are greatly welcomed, and I am very thankful for the positive feedback so far. This is another short chapter, I wanted to write more, but it seemed like an appropriate place to cut off. Also, I just need to say that this was a blast to write, both Diz and Axel are extremely fun characters to write dialogue for.

(-------------------------------------------- Rulers hate me)

Diz took a moment to admire the ring of fire enclosing the pair, a spectacular display of pure power, and in this case, rage.

"Magnificent, but tell me, what do you hope to accomplish fighting me here?" Diz wondered aloud. He turned his attention back to Axel, hoping to delve more into this most curious Nobody's psyche, to find that he had simply vanished.

However Axel was still very, very close. Moving through his wall of fire as easily as a fish in water.

"Are you simply trying to follow orders?" Diz continued to question, spinning a quick three-sixty and raising another transparent wall to deflect a chakram Axel had sent flying from his fiery camouflage.

"Or is there a different reason for this sudden display of…" his sentence was cut short as Axel suddenly leaped from the flaming wall, both weapons brought down with such force that a small explosion erupted from the point of impact, but Diz wasn't there. He had simply teleported a few feet away, perfectly unharmed. "Dare I say it, emotion?" He finished.

Fire erupting from the ground with every step, Axel sprinted right for Diz, one chakram swinging right for his red wrapped face. It never reached its mark, suddenly parried by a dull fizz of energy as a blue beam of light erupted from Diz's hand, used as a makeshift sword.

"You talk a lot," Axel muttered as his weapon pushed against the other, trying to force it wide.

"All in the pursuit of knowledge, my friend." Diz coolly replied, seemingly not strained in the least. "And you are a very curious thing indeed. I see it plainly in your face, you're worried about Roxas!" Ironically, just at that moment Axel's piercing green eyes had subconsciously drifted over to where Roxas lay, making sure he was unharmed. They swiveled forward immediately at the declaration. "Yes, honest worry. Honest friendship. For a being with no heart, you certainly seem to care about him quite a lot!"

"What are you saying?"

"That perhaps Nobodies aren't quite as heartless as we've been led to believe."

That certainly set Axel back on his heels a bit, and in that sudden moment of weakness Diz easily sent a tremor through the ground of his virtual reality, creating a small earthquake. It was more than enough to knock Axel to the ground, blue lightsabre trailing his throat all the way down.

"You can't beat me here," Diz declared in all confidence. "This is my world, after all." Flat on his back, deadly sword so close he could feel the heat radiating off his throat, Axel was in no position to argue. "However, I'll allow you to leave," Diz continued, and as he spoke, he raised his weapon. "Refuse to leave now however, and you'll be deemed as too much an annoyance. Roxas is the greater experiment by far."

Axel stared hard at that red bandaged face, and then with slow deliberation he got to his feet, even taking a moment to dust off his coat. He still had his dignity, after all. Testing the waters, he once again tried to open a portal of darkness, this time with far more success. Axel couldn't help but chuckle, his optimistic personality always seemed to come out when it was least appropriate.

"You're just too kind." He said with a vicious smile, the irony that he was massaging his slightly burned neck not lost on either of them. "Wish I knew what it was like to have a heart so big." He gazed over at Roxas, only furthering the obvious bitter irony. "Hell, I'd settle for one at all."

"Ho ho, you're a bold one!" Diz replied with a chuckle. "I'm far from a saint, however. Roxas stays with me." Axel gave a resigned shrug, and began to step through his portal. "Have you already forgotten what I've told you?" Diz continued, stopping the red head. "Your wish may not be as ridiculous as you think."

"You're completely bonkers," Axel's reply came without missing a beat. Diz, finding no rebuttal, simply conceded the point with a nod, which elicited another chuckle from the fiery red head. As Axel stepped through, the inferno of fire that had acted to set the stage of their brief battle dissipated. "I'll be back for Roxas," he warned, turning to face Diz again. "Got it memorized?" Then he was gone, whisked away as the portal closed.

"Indeed," Diz said to no one in particular. "In fact…" He glanced over at Roxas, the rough sketches of a plan beginning to take shape in his mind. "I'm counting on it."


End file.
